Memories with Sound
by Avahin
Summary: Kyoya doesn't believe Tamaki's heartfelt confession, insisting that the blond loves someone else. But Tamaki's not going to give up until Kyoya at least believes him...Then he can work on making the boy love him.
1. Silent Tears

_Kyouya remembered the night Tamaki first confessed to him a few days after Haruhi entered their lives._

They were sitting next to each other doing homework, or at least Kyoya was doing homework, when Tamaki suddenly stopped his senseless blabbering and just watched the dark-haired boy. It took Kyoya less than a minute to realize that Tamaki had become silent and seemingly thoughtful. He sighed and took his glasses off. As of late, whenever the blond-haired boy took to simply staring at him, it meant that something was on his mind. When something was on Tamaki's mind, it meant that Kyoya wouldn't be doing his work for awhile.

"What is it?" he asked a little more harshly than he intended.

Tamaki, unfazed by the tone of the question, sighed in return. "It's nothing," he mumbled, edging closer to Kyoya. Though not the least bit tired, he rested his head against the other's shoulder and said nothing more.

Kyoya let his own head drop on top of the blond hair, knowing that sooner or later Tamaki would answer his question properly; he always did. Kyoya watched strands of the light hair sway back and forth with each breath he took for awhile until exhaustion from the lack of sleep the night before caught up with him and he let his eyes close.

Tamaki smiled as he felt his friend's breathing slow down. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Tamaki reached over and took one of Kyoya's soft hands with his own. Kyoya can't say he was surprised when their fingers intertwined together for the first time. He already knew how the normally idiotic man felt (he had known for awhile) and he didn't mind it. However, he was shocked when Tamaki opened his mouth, said very quietly, "I think I love you, Kyoya," and pressed his pink lips gently against Kyoya's hand just to make sure the ebony-hared boy got the message correctly.

Dark brown eyes widened slightly as he slowly took his hand back and shifted so that he could properly see Tamaki. He cringed mentally when he saw the pained violet eyes staring back at him. An unasked question hung onto the broken-hearted boy's lips. Before attempting to answer it, Kyoya took the taller man into his arms, a very rare gesture from him, and smiled slightly as the blond clung onto him with confusion.

"Tamaki," Kyoya whispered after a long pause. "Not yet, you don't." As the words tumbled out, he knew they were the wrong ones. He sighed and tried again. "What I mean is, you're wrong." Though crude, he meant what he said. "You'll see, Tamaki, that you love someone else more than you think you love me." In his mind, Kyoya already knew it would be the brown-haired girl that just joined their club.

Tamaki, on the other hand, was certain his friend was wrong, but he didn't argue against him. Instead, he snuggled closer and pressed his ear against the fabric covering Kyoya's heart. As Kyoya started to take his arms away, Tamaki muttered a desperate "please" and Kyoya gave in, letting the light-haired boy listen to his heart beat until he finally fell asleep with silent tears staining his face.


	2. Beating Stethoscope

_The day after that, the idiot brought in a stethoscope and _insisted_ on listening to everyone's heartbeat._

Had Tamaki been anyone else, the host club might have questioned the fact that he came in five minutes late and wearing a white doctor's coat with a stethoscope around his neck. But knowing Tamaki to be no one other than a Tamaki, none of the members questioned it, but only Kyoya knew the reason for it.

"Pervert!" Hikaru shouted when Tamaki placed the stethoscope on Haruhi first, adamantly demanding to make sure his daughter was perfectly healthy.

Haruhi, who had managed to escape during the time Tamaki was stiff, blushing red, and trying to find an excuse, turned and glared at him coldly. "Now I know what Senpai really is."

"Haruhi!" Tamaki called after her before Honey bounced over, took hold of the metal circle, and put it against his own chest.

"Tama-chan, Tama-chan," he said excitedly, "can you hear mine?" Then the shorter blond turned to his tall companion. "Takashi! Is my heart going thump thump?"

Mori took the instrument away from Tamaki and placed it into his ears. He listened to the sound for a moment before taking the object away from Honey and giving it back to Tamaki.

"Yes, Mitsukuni," he replied shortly as customers began to file in.

Tamaki was, then, distracted by his clients until Kyoya walked past him to where the twins were hosting. He glared with slight jealousy as the black-haired boy whispered something into the younger Hitaciin's ear. Tamaki jumped up suddenly, to the great surprise of the young ladies, when Kaoru laughed loudly in return. By the time Tamaki had made an excuse to the princesses, Kyoya was standing straight and smiling his I'm-only-pretending-to-fondly-like-you-because-it's-beneficial-for-me smile. The smile stayed as Tamaki rushed over, but it had changed into an undecipherable one that usually meant Kyoya was up to no good.

"Tamaki," Kyoya started to reprimand, but the other ignored him and pressed the stethoscope forcefully against Kaoru. He managed to get a few quick heartbeats in the momentary shocked silence before a hand slapped his face, leaving a very large red mark.

"Pervert!" Hikaru shouted again.

"Hikaru," Kaoru muttered hesitantly while taking hold of his brother's hand. "Please don't be so upset."

"Kaoru," Hikaru replied, drawing the slightly younger boy to him. "Sorry, Kaoru, it's just…I don't like it when anyone else tries to listen to your heart. Your heart-beat is just for me to hear, okay?"

"Hi-Hikaru." Kaoru shut his eyes as Hikaru leaned closer and gently kissed Kaoru's cheek.

As their clients screamed, Tamaki was forgotten by the two and Kyoya had disappeared. Tamaki, having nothing better to do, returned to his own clients. Kyoya, who had taken to hiding in an adjoining room, sighed, glad to have avoided something.

Yet, it was only a short-term aversion. When Kyoya finally returned to the main room at the end of the day, expecting it to be empty, he found a blond-haired man sleeping on one of the couches. Knowing that if he didn't wake Tamaki up, he would probably have to face some sort of tragedy early tomorrow morning. Kyoya ran a hand through his dark hair and walked over. He placed the other hand on Tamaki's shoulder and gently chook him.

"Time to go home, Tamaki," Kyoya said when dark purple eyes stared at him.

Tamaki didn't respond and just continued to watch as Kyoya turned away and packed his bag. When he finished, Kyoya glanced back to see if Tamaki was coming, but the other hadn't moved at all, so he shrugged and headed for the exit.

"Wait."

Kyoya stopped and turned around to see Tamaki standing and holding the stethoscope.

"Please," he added when Kyoya opened his mouth to protest. Not waiting for his response, Tamaki stepped forwards and wrapped one arm around the dark-haired man while using the other to old the stethoscope against him.

"Tamaki," he said coldly, but his actions indicated otherwise. He brought his arms up and wrapped them around the white coat. "You're wrong."

Tamaki shook his head, barely registering the words over the steady, fast, and soothing beat. "No Kyoya. This time _you're_ wrong."


	3. Asking Mommy

_Not too long after that, Tamaki took to calling him "Mom" to go along with his own "Dad" and Haruhi's "Daughter". Building on that theory, he continued to make the rest of the host club into a family, though, because of their age, Mori and Honey were unfairly cast as the neighbors._

"Mommy," Tamaki whined while flitting around the room like a lost child. "Mommy, out daughter is using rude words." He finished his fifth circle and stopped right in frong of Kyoya. "Make her stop!" He pointed an accusing finger at Haruhi who had an exasperated look on her face.

Kyoya ignored the raving blond and, instead, continued to write in his black notebook while occasionally sipping from the tea cup on the table next to him.

Tamaki stared at Kyoya for awhile before realizing that he wasn't going to be dignified with a response. He, then, took the dark-haired boy by the shoulders and shook him fervently. Though Kyoya tried to continue with his work, when the shaking started destroying his perfect handwriting, he finally gave in. His notebook snapped shut and, when he glanced up, his glasses reflected the florescent light, making it impossible to see the eyes underneath.

"Go away," he replied in an impassive voice. Everyone in the room froze, each wearing the same frightened look, anticipating yet dreading what would happen next.

"B-but," Tamaki stuttered after a long silence.

He was answered with another cold glare and a brief, "I'm busy."

There was a quick gasp amongst the other members before Tamaki broke out crying to the only two people he knew would have sympathy upon him: Honey and Mori.

"Mommy is being so mean to Daddy, Honey-senpai," he complained as the shorter boy patted his back and gave him some cake while Mori offered a nod every-so-often.

Ignoring the overly dramatic boy, Kyoya crossed his legs and went back to his numbers as Haruhi slowly walked over with her eyes steadily watching Tamaki.

Her gaze flickered away as soon as she was standing in front of the dark-haired boy. "Kyoya-sempai," she said hesitantly, "aren't you being a little harsh to Tamaki-senpai?"

Kyoya chuckled lightly at Haruhi's concern. "He should know better by now. Besides, that's nothing. I plan on doing much worse for that terrible nickname he choose."

"Mother?"

"Yes?" He responded as if she had called for him instead of confirming a fact. A twisted smile appeared as he heard Tamaki gasp behind him. "I think, _daughter_, that we should go shopping some day. Or another type of _mother-daughter_ activity."

"Kyoya!" Tamaki screamed, knocking over a plate of cake in his haste to get to the two of them. This caused an outcry of "Tamaki" followed by near sobs which no one cared about but Mori.

Haruhi looked confused. The Shadow King wanted to go shopping with her. And what was with all this familial referencing? She shook her head and shrugged. After all, who was she to go against the scary man's wishes.

"Of-of course, Kyoya-senpai."

"Haruhi!" the blond whined while shaking her shoulders. "What are you thinking? You aren't-"

"Please," Kyoya interrupted, at the same time ignoring Tamaki, "call me Mom." His smile darkened incredibly as his stormy gray eyes narrowed.

"Kyoya!" Tamaki cried as all the other members shivered at the sudden chill in the room. "Haruhi!" he pleaded when Kyoya didn't react.

"Tamaki, maybe you should let Kyo-uh…Mom finish his work," she replied, puzzled, while picking up her schoolbag. The tension between the two of them was beginning to get unnerving and she didn't want to get stuck in the middle of it. "If there's nothing left to do, then I'll go home."

Though everything from her response to her departure was done politely, Tamaki managed to see things differently.

_(Tamaki's P.O.V.:)_

_"Daddy, leave Mommy alone. Can't you see he hates you?" Haruhi screamed while snatching her bag off of the floor. "Good-bye, Mommy. I love you!"_

As the door clicked shut, Tamaki's eyes grew wide, blank, and pitiful. "Kyoya," Tamaki whispered before his soul started leaving his body, "why do you hate me?"


	4. Wandering Thoughts

_So, after all of Tamaki's "persuading", it came as no surprise when Kyoya started to evaluate his feelings for the blond. _

He stepped out of the steamy room and into his bedroom with thoughts swirling like crazy in his mind. He tried to organize them like he was used to, but failed to do so. As he turned on the lights in the room, he blamed the heat from the shower for his muddled thoughts. After a pause, he decided he also blamed Tamaki and his anger.

After the dangerous incident that Haruhi had placed herself in, Tamaki had been nothing short of insufferable. He became even more so after the silent but furious feud the two had over dinner. Of course, Tamaki found it necessary to rant about it to Kyoya as the dark-haired boy was always willing to listen. As Tamaki threw his tantrum, Kyoya couldn't help but notice examples were Tamaki seemed to state his love for Haruhi. At those moments, he smiled and that not only confused the idiotic blond but also threw him into another rant which included Kyoya's cruelness yet always ended up with what Haruhi had done.

When Tamaki finally exhausted himself, he was leaning against Kyoya, the two of them on his bed lounged relaxingly. He closed his eyes and let out a large breath. Then, Kyoya glad that it was finally over, stiffened and prepared to leave, but Tamaki sat up and pressed his lips lightly underneath the metal frame of Kyoya's glasses. It was different from his usual greeting kisses he gave and for the first time since Tamaki declared his love, Kyoya didn't push Tamaki aside.

"Thank you for listening," he said, not daring to look through the glass at the other boy's eyes.

Kyoya sat there for a moment longer, but after seeing that Tamaki didn't intend to stall him any longer, he got up and left the room without a word.

Then he found himself in his own room, having just finished a show, and still dwelling messily on the past few hours. Feeling like it was too much to take standing, he sunk into a chair and covered his damp hair with a towel.

While he dried off, he questioned himself. He felt bad about leaving Tamaki in such a manner because it was rude and impolite. His thoughts paused. He knew exactly what he was going to think next, but he didn't _want_ to _think_ it. If he did, then he was afraid it would lead to too many complicated situations. However, his mind wasn't cooperating with his brain. Not only did the thought appear, it also came through his mouth. "I wanted _more_?" he whispered.

He stood up suddenly, ready to go into the stages of denial, when his door burst open suddenly and a girl ran straight to the open bathroom. She was followed by four boys who seemed to be stuck between humor and confusion. However, after noticing Kyoya, their emotions had no more conflicts and all agreed upon fear. Thus, after four simultaneous frightened looks, the boys fled.

Kyoya sighed, slightly amused, and picked up the towel that fell on the floor when he stood. Then he draped it around his neck and walked over to one of the windows. While he waited for the retching to end, he came up with a conclusion to the problems. He would _make_ Tamaki realize his feelings for Haruhi or he would take the girl for himself. He grinned demonically as the brown-haired girl stepped out looking rather relieved. As he twisted open a water bottle, he thought to himself, _Won't this be a fun game?_

--------

A/N: In case you haven't noticed yet, this is following the anime plot, not the manga plot. That means that if/when it gets to past Ep. 26, it'll be looser...not that it isn't already. Also, thanks to Nkitty29, you see a little more of what Kyoya thinks. Hopefully, at least, this is what she meant by development/Kyoya's side.


	5. Avoiding Coughs

_Once Haruhi caught on to what was going on, she began avoiding the two of hem like the Black Plague. However, that was easier said than done._

"Haruhi!" Tamaki shouted from across the room.

The girl, who had been hosting with Mori and Honey, twitched involuntarily and tried to ignoring him until he called for her again.

"Haruhi-kun," one of the customers said hesitantly, "Tamaki-senpai is coming this way."

Haruhi glanced over her shoulder before standing up quickly. She smiled kindly, thanked the girl, and walked off, away from the approaching blond. She had almost made it to the exit when a cold voice cut her off.

"Where are you going, Haruhi? There's still another hour left."

She stopped where she was, squeezed her eyes shut, and raked her brain for an excuse.

"Well?" it prompted as a chair scraped backwards on the floor and a pair of feet stabled themselves on the ground.

"I don't feel well, Kyoya-senpai," she muttered as the whole room seemed to turn silent just to watch their interaction. Then she coughed twice for an extra effect.

Kyoya walked towards her, and, when he was close enough, placed the back of his hand gently against her forehead. Haruhi knew she was caught, but the way he looked at her oh-so-dearly made her question everything she knew about the dark-haired boy and she couldn't tell if he was acting or not.

A smirk threatened to tug at his mouth, daring to ruin the moment. So, unable to hide a smile, he turned his lips upwards as lovingly as he could and caringly brushed aside the strands of brown hair that covered Haruhi's eyes.

"You do seem abnormally warm," he said softly, though it was a lie. Haruhi was most definitely at a perfect thirty-seven degrees Celsius. His grin widened as he felt all the eyes waiting eagerly for his next words. All the customers wanted more of this "new love" and the hosts needed an explanation for the sudden change in Kyoya's behavior. "Why don't you go into an adjoining room and rest for a bit?" Haruhi was about to question the boy's own state of health when she saw the familiar plotting gleam in his eyes. Then fear, curiosity, and anger froze her body for a moment. "I'll get you something for your illness in a moment, okay Haruhi?"

"I don't want to be a bother-" she began to protest as she backed up when a sharp stare cut her off. As those gray eyes dared her to defy him, she found that there was no point in arguing.

Haruhi sighed, determined not to be completely defeated, and slowly began to walk towards the room Kyoya mentioned. However, as soon as she started to move, a body sprung forwards and latched onto Kyoya. Finding both Tamaki and Kyoya well distracted, Haruhi took the chance to change her course and to flee from the room. As soon as she was a good distance away from the Third Music Room, she slowed her pace down to a relaxing stroll. She knew that if things kept up the way they had been since the beach trip, she would have to take the time and chance to talk to the two of them about what was clearly going on between them. It wasn't fair to either of them and certainly not to her. She sighed again and desperately hoped that they would sort things out on their own soon.


	6. Frustrating Screams

_Of course Haruhi wasn't the only one who noticed the odd behavior between the two best friends. Honey, too, realized something was off, and when Honey knew something, Mori was destined to know something as well. Then Honey and Mori were bound to do something about it. _

They had just successfully gotten rid of the Zuka Club and were not taking turns making Haruhi laugh. "They" were Kaoru, Hikaru, Tamaki, and Honey. Kyoya, having already harassed Haruhi for making them go to such lengths for her, had disappeared into another room. Mori was standing to the side, watching the four chase Haruhi around and too tired to follow them. He was also one of the two people who noticed violet eyes flickering towards a closed door every few minutes. The other person was his short blond counter-part.

They were also the only one's who noticed when Tamaki sneaked away from the fun and slipped into the room where Kyoya had gone.

Honey caught Mori's eye easily, after the door clicked shut, and nodded briefly. Mori returned the gesture and added a grunt on the end for good measure. Then, as Honey went back to play, Mori sidled over to the door and swiftly locked it.

Tamaki, who didn't notice the lock rattle, slowly walked towards the sleeping beauty on the couch. He lifted up the ends of the dress to soften the ruffling noise. As he nudged the body over to take a seat, Tamaki noticed that the make up had been washed off of Kyoya's face not too long ago and therefore the dark-haired boy must have just fallen asleep.

Satisfied with his deduction, Tamaki reached over and plucked off the glasses that were still on Kyoya's face. Then he put a hand on Kyoya's cheek, stroked it softly, and smiled when Kyoya leaned into the touch. "See, if you'd let me, I'd take care of you like this all the time," he muttered softly before examining the glasses.

Struck with a brilliant new idea, Tamaki jumped up, threw off everything covering his body except his underwear, and rubbed aside the make-up. Then he put on the glasses, and, with an unfocused view of the world, picked up the black notebook that had been forgotten on the ground. He sat down on a chair next to the sofa and attempted to slick back his wild hair before he began acting out what was playing in his inner theater.

"Oh Tamaki," he said in a slightly higher voice, "you're right. I should have listened to you in the beginning."

"See Kyoya?" Tamaki replied to himself after taking off the glasses. "Look at all the time we could have saved if you had done so in the first place."

He put the glasses on again. "I do see. Let me write down in my diary that you were right and I love you before we start kissing."

Tamaki started to open the notebook before a pale hand snatched it away angrily from him.

"Tamaki," a cold voice stated as another hand stole the glasses that were rightfully his, "what are you doing?"

Tamaki, suddenly feeling very exposed, looked away and mumbled, "Nothing."

Kyoya, of course, didn't buy it. "Why were you reading my notebook half-naked?"

"Ah," Tamaki stood up and started roaming around the room as he lied, "I was changing when I saw that you had dropped your notebook, so I thought I would just pick it up for you. And I didn't think you would mind if I just peeked in it to see how the club expenses were doing." His voice trailed off at the end as he saw Kyoya's eyes take apart the excuse.

"Liar," Kyoya said as he stood up and pulled off the wig. "If it's secret confessions you're looking for, you won't find any," he teased lightly while stripping off the dress. For a moment, the atmosphere between the two was friendly and normal. Then, after Kyoya put on his glasses, he suddenly demanded, "Out."

Tamaki, confused by the sudden command, gaped wordlessly at Kyoya's barely clothed body.

"Tamaki," Kyoya snapped when the blond didn't move, "get out." There was a long pause before Kyoya sighed and opened his mouth again. "Get out and find my pants. They aren't where I left them."

"Can't you do it yourself?" Tamaki whined as he started for the door.

"That would be embarrassing," Kyoya replied as he began to button his shirt while disregarding the fact that Tamaki was wearing next to nothing.

"Only because I love you," Tamaki mumbled and turned the handle. When it didn't move, he tried again and again until finally giving up and screaming in frustration.

On the other side of the door, Mori and Honey were eating cake alone. Honey smiled when the scream came and the smile only widened when several crashes and loud voices followed it.

"I think they're having a good talk," he said cheerfully while taking a bit of the strawberry cake.

Mori agreed with a grunt, but the look on his face indicated that he thought anything but.

----------------------

A/N: What's it been? Nearly a month? Sorry about that, if you care. Too many things to do and not enough imagination to spare. Speaking of which, there will be plot development after the next section. I promise something _will_ happen. Thanks for sticking around this long too!


	7. Cooking Kisses

_So when Kaoru and Hikaru finally caught on (not on their own), they just _had_ to join in on the fun. But what was fun for them was the exact opposite for Tamaki and Kyoya. _

"Tono," Hikaru whined with a blank expression on his face. "I'm bored."

At the same time Tamaki stood up to propose an idea, Kaoru said to Kyoya, "I have an idea."

Both Tamaki and Kaoru were immediately shot down by a blunt, "No." They then responded with, "But you haven't heard my idea yet!"

"I already know that whatever it is, it's a bad one," Hikaru replied while turning his eyes onto Kaoru and Kyoya.

"Well, what is it?" Kyoya asked impatiently.

Kaoru grinned and answered, "I thought that maybe we could explore your secret passion of cooking."

"I don't have a secret passion of cooking," Kyoya said quite obviously.

"Well, why not discover one?" Kaoru dug into his pocket and pulled out two tickets. "Mother gave us these but Hikaru doesn't want to go. He says it's too boring for him."

"Ask Tamaki."

Kaoru put on his mother pathetic looking face and blinked his suddenly teary eyes a few times while whispering, "But I had hoped Kyoya-senpai would come with me."

Kyoya sighed and stared scrutinizingly at Kaoru. Clearly, the boy was planning something and, judging from the fact that the other Hitachiin hadn't stopped staring at them since Kaoru's idea, his brother was involved. He ran over the pros and cons in his mind quickly before deciding that there were likely to be more pros than cons. He would definitely be able to form a good relationship with the chef in charge of the cooking show (who was bound to be someone important) and he could show his own chef a few recipes. Maybe he would even try to teach his sister to keep her busy and away from his room.

"When is it?"

Delighted with having swayed over the Shadow King, Kaoru smiled and cheerfully replied, "Saturday at one. I'll pick you up at noon."

"An _hour_ earlier?" Kyoya asked, rather skeptical of the thought. Also, he had hoped to sleep until then.

"In case of traffic," Kaoru said promptly, almost as if he had rehearsed the answer.

"Fine." Kyoya penciled in the meeting in his little black notebook before narrowing his eyes at Kaoru. "But you had better not be late."

Kaoru ignored the threat and beamed blissfully. "It's a date then, Senpai." Kaoru winked at Hikaru and walked out the room before Kyoya could cancel on him.

Hikaru grinned back at Kaoru, just as happy as his twin that Kyoya agreed so easily. "We'll follow them," he decided, more to himself than to Tamaki, and left after Kaoru.

--

Kyoya sat in his living room wearing a crisp white suit with his hair gelled back nicely waiting for Kaoru to show up. It was eleven fifty-nine and thirty seconds when a black limo pulled up to the driveway. Kyoya grinned as a figure darted out of the car and up the stairs to the door. At exactly twelve o'clock the doorbell rang and Kyoya got up to answer it.

Admittedly, he was a little disappointed that he didn't have a chance to scold Kaoru for being late, but he was very disappointed when he opened the door to reveal a very casually dressed boy.

"Wha-" Kyoya began to ask before he was rudely interrupted by loud laughter.

"Kyoya-senpai," Kaoru said between his laughs, "why dressed so formally?"

"I thought-"

"Luckily, I planned ahead for this and brought some clothes for you," Kaoru interrupted. Kyoya was beginning to grow irritated that he hadn't been able to finish a sentence and tried to say that he had his own clothes before being cut off again by a shout of, "Hikaru!"

It seemed that the other twin popped out of nowhere, but Kyoya knew he must have been hiding in the bushes because there was another rustling sound that indicated someone else was there. However, before he could question it, he was being shoved into the nearest bathroom by the twins.

"This one," Hikaru said as he held out a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt. Kyoya changed into it and wasn't quite sure what was so special about it. Apparently the other two thought the same because the outfit was being tugged off of him and he was forced into another one. After half an hour, they finally decided that the tall boy looked ravishing (in fact Kaoru even said, "You look ravishing, Kyoya-senpai" though Kyoya heard, "You have rashes, Kyoya-senpai") in black jeans, a light blue button up long-sleeved shirt, and a sleeveless hoodie that left his eyes in shadows. Kyoya thought he looked like he was ready to kill someone, especially since his glasses seemed to be floating on his face. Of course, he didn't mind. He was ready to kill someone if they didn't leave soon.

He said this to the other two who agreed (probably because Kyoya looked murderous). Then Kaoru dragged Kyoya into his limousine as Hikaru stood on the steps of Kyoya's home and waved them off. Kyoya swore he saw blond hair sticking out of his green bushes, but the automobile was long gone before he could turn back and check.

As soon as Hikaru was sure Kaoru and Kyoya could no longer see them, he pulled Tamaki out of the bushes and pushed him into his own limo.

"Alright, Tono. Plan Follow-Kaoru-and-Kyoya-on-their-Date is a go," Hikaru whispered in the safety of the car.

Tamaki cringed a little and asked, "Do we have to call it a 'date'?" He didn't like the idea of Kyoya going on a date with anyone except him, especially since he had told Kyoya he loved him first and so had dibs on the dark-haired boy.

Hikaru's voice was unusually harsh as he replied, "Of course we do. You heard Kaoru call it a date. So we have to call it a date. Now, shut up, Tono, or else we might lose them."

This command didn't make any sense since they were in a car and the driver knew exactly where to go, but Tamaki, being the idiot that he was, did as he was told and silently, but with huge violet eyes, watched as their car followed the other.

--

Kyoya was always a very perceptive person; anyone could tell you that. In fact, he was so alert that it took him only a minute to realize that someone was stalking them. Someone rich enough to be driving a limo was stalking them.

"Kaoru," he said, hoping that this one time he could get his sentence finished, "there's someone following us." His gray eyes didn't look at the brown ones across from him, instead they stayed concentrated on the mirror hanging above the driver. Kaoru's eyes too glanced over and he noticed the black automobile driving too closely to them and a very familiar driver.

Kaoru forced a fake laughter and shook his head. "I'm sure that they are just going to the cooking show just like we are. A lot of rich and important people go there." He smiled with his eyes squeezed shut and Kyoya knew that the boy was lying. "I-uh-have to call my mother to tell her how lovely you look." Then he turned away from Kyoya and huddled into a ball as far away as he could from the other boy.

Kyoya's eyes narrowed suspiciously as Kaoru made a phone call and talked in hushed tones while occasionally saying, "Too close. Hikaru. Hikaru. No." When he finished, Kyoya was still glaring at the Hitachiin who met his gaze cautiously and chanced a smile.

"Mother is so happy that you look so lovely that she wants you to keep the clothes."

Kaoru's lie was replied with a frigid, "Thank you."

--

They had reached the huge stadium where the cooking show was to be held and, despite the sudden distance that the two cars had created on the highway, Kyoya could still tell they were being followed. He supposed this was part of Kaoru and Hikaru's plan. He just wondered what it was they were trying to get from this.

As Kyoya and Kaoru were escorted from their vehicle and into the building, Hikaru was forcing a disguise onto Tamaki. It was a very poor disguise that consisted of a thick brown moustache, huge purple sunglasses, and a scarf for his head. Hikaru was trying desperately not to laugh as he convinced Tamaki that the disguise was a fantastic one. Of course, he had to put on his own disguise, just to stop Tamaki's questions, but it was nothing outrageous like that.

When they were properly dressed, they refused the kind escorts, who were terribly confused why a Souh and a Hitachiin were dressed so poorly, and crept into the stadium. They, too, had tickets, and handed them in silently, but they pretended like they had snuck in and sat down two rows behind Kyoya and Kaoru.

Nothing extremely interesting happened during the show and all four of them were terribly disappointed. Well actually, only three; Tamaki didn't quite have a reason for being disappointed because he still wasn't quite sure why he was there. The chef, though world-renowned, was not very good at presenting his meals, and all his recipes seemed to be lacking something exciting. Kyoya was sure that this was on purpose, but decided that he would figure out the secret ingredient. Kaoru had tried, and failed, to gain all of Kyoya's attention during the show and, in fact, had been almost completely ignored. Hikaru was rather upset that Kaoru hadn't managed to get Kyoya's attention and so was unable to see what sort of reaction Tamaki would give to such a thing.

Therefore, after Kyoya had successfully gotten contact information about the chef, all four of them climbed back into their respective limos. Of course, Kyoya was hoping to go back home, but Kaoru, after receiving a phone call from Hikaru to step up his game, had other plans and Hikaru and Tamaki were following them diligently.

"Where are we going now?" he asked with a frown.

Kaoru smiled a little nervously. "I thought we could try to make what we learned. The dishes looked rather tasty, didn't they?"

"Actually they seemed bland and unpleasant. I would rather go home and learn from my own chef."

Not to be deterred, Kaoru tried a different tactic. "Well, didn't it make you hungry? I know that watching all that food being cooked made me remember that I hadn't had lunch yet. Have you had lunch yet?"

Kyoya's frown turned into a scowl as he answered, "Then let's eat," just to shut Kaoru up. So far, nothing really strange had happened aside from the limousine that was still following them and Kaoru's odd behavior. Kyoya was growing more suspicious by the minute and he really did want nothing more than to go home and manage his affairs.

Kaoru nodded nervously. "Wherever you want, Senpai."

--

They were sitting at a table in one of the best Indian restaurants in the city wearing considerably less ridiculous disguises this time. Still, Kyoya could tell that Hikaru and Tamaki were sitting behind a potted tree that had been brought over just for them. He couldn't understand why they were doing that when they could have just joined him and Kaoru to eat. It definitely would have been less annoying that way.

He sighed with irritation as their waiter brought over his meal of curry and rice. Kaoru must have noticed the not-very-well-hidden pair as well, because his already anxious smile grew wider.

"Kyoya-senpai," he said.

"Yes, Kaoru?" Cold steel eyes glared at him.

"I-" he hesitated, not exactly sure what he wanted to say, but knowing that he had to distract the other man. Kaoru looked away quickly to avoid the stare from Kyoya and glanced upon a woman and man clearly going out on a date. That gave Kaoru a great idea, and, with a steady glint in his eyes, he stared back at Kyoya and spat out, "I love you." Then he leaned over the table and pulled Kyoya, by the strings of his hoodie, into a kiss.

Unfortunately, Kaoru was not very good at sudden kisses over the table and he managed to knock over the table with Kyoya's long-awaited meal. He also began to quiver as he felt Kyoya burning with anger at his overturned meal and Kaoru's obviously fake display of affection. In fact, Kyoya was about to push Kaoru away when Tamaki burst in and pulled Kyoya towards him.

"NO!" cried the blond as he tried to bury Kyoya safely in his arms. "You can't!"

Hikaru, who had been so shocked by the sudden kiss that he couldn't move for a bit, rushed over and stood in front of his brother to protect him from Kyoya's rage. He didn't much care if Tamaki was going to get hit by the now suffocating boy.

"I-I think I can," Kaoru muttered, failing to be brave and defiant. He was a little shaken by the embrace he had initiated and, truth be told, he hadn't expected to be good. Not that it was good. Kyoya hadn't kissed him back, but Kaoru had a feeling that if he did, it would have been an alright kiss.

"You can't!" Tamaki screamed again. He tried to pull Kyoya tighter, but it was hard especially since Kyoya was beginning to struggle. "You can't love him because-" Tamaki faltered and lowered his eyes. He hadn't admitted it to anyone else and he had never planned on it. He had actually hoped that when he and Kyoya walked into the Host Club one day holding hands and smiling blissfully, everyone would just know that they were in love.

"Because what?" Hikaru edged on. Kaoru tapped him lightly on the shoulder and they glanced at each other with matching grins. This was what they had been waiting for all afternoon.

"Because," his breathing quickened and he gripped Kyoya's arm tightly as if he were expecting support from him, "because _I_ love him."

There were no gasps of surprises, because no one was actually surprised. Instead, there were loud cheers and shouts of, "We knew it!" Of course, the twins _had_ known it, but to get Tamaki to _admit_ it was something different.

But their little celebration was quickly cut short by Kyoya, who had been released by a surprised Tamaki, glaring at them murderously.

"_You knew?"_ he hissed. _"Was this all just a game?"_ His voice, though soft, was very frightening and the two boys were grateful when the owner of the restaurant came by and demanded politely that they leave. Kyoya's face immediately turned kind and pleasant as he offered to pay for the damage, but he was quickly denied and soon stormed out of the building dragging Tamaki and Kaoru with him. Hikaru followed at a brisk speed because he was afraid of what would happen to his brother.

He remained silent as he forced the three boys into one of the two limousines waiting outside. When he got in, he made a quick command to be driven home before sitting down across from the three with his eyes narrowed dangerously. Once or twice, Tamaki dared to ask what was wrong, but Kyoya never answered even though it seemed was about to explode.

It wasn't until they were safe inside his home that Kyoya let out his anger in a series of shouts. He was pacing back and forth as he yelled, "What is wrong with you? What on earth were you thinking? Were you even thinking? Pulling a stunt like that in the middle of a restaurant, Kaoru! I might have expected that from Hikaru, but from you? And why were you stalking us? What were you trying to get out of this? What sort of elaborate game is this?" He paused for a breath and was about to continue when a single chord stopped him.

Before he could shout at Tamaki for interrupting him, the chord developed into a complicated song that started off soft and soon turned loud. In the middle of it, Kyoya sat down, knowing that it wouldn't end soon, and shut his eyes to enjoy the calming effect of the music. As soon as he did, the twins quietly made their escape from Kyoya and Tamaki smiled gently as the music softened to a finish.

He let his fingers linger on the keys for a moment longer before he silently got off of the bench and sat down next to Kyoya who had fallen asleep. The same graceful fingers that had been playing beautiful music grazed gently against the pale face beside him and eased off the glasses that were blocking the sweetly closed eyes.

"Kyoya," Tamaki muttered as brushed aside a few dark strands of hair. "Look at what I do for you."

Slowly, Kyoya's eyelids fluttered before they opened completely, but before he could sit up and protest, Tamaki leaned forwards and kissed him fully on the mouth. It was soft and gentle, nothing like Kaoru's forced kiss, but it was also hesitant as if expecting to be pushed away. However, it was over before it could be rejected and Kyoya seemed incapable of showing any expression other than surprise.

"Do you believe me now, Kyoya? That I love you? Even Kaoru and Hikaru believe me," his voice was preciously tender as his dark purple eyes stared not at Kyoya's gray eyes, but at his red lips. "Do you?"

He wanted to. Kyoya realized that he wanted to believe Tamaki, but he knew he couldn't. It was no silly reason this time that Kyoya had to not believe. It wasn't because he thought Tamaki loved Haruhi. It was because he was afraid that if he did believe Tamaki, he would lose his empire. The Ootori kingdom that he was slowly beginning to take over through an alibi would fall apart from a distraction. He knew his father would find out if they were more than just friends and he would lose what little hope he had that his father loved him. And, if it were so that one day Tamaki realized he no longer loved Kyoya, he would lose his best friend as well.

Uncharacteristically fighting back tears, Kyoya turned away from Tamaki and whispered back, "No, I don't."

But even though Kyoya's cold, Tamaki smiled because he knew that if Kyoya really meant it, he would look Tamaki in the eye and tell him. So, he placed a steady hand on Kyoya's should and gripped it firmly. "You will," he said adamantly and left before Kyoya could get his bearings back and remember why Tamaki was there in the first place.

--

A/N: So, it's been nearly five months...and I'm very sorry for not updating. Truth be told, I got busy with school work, had no inspiration, and started a Remus/Sirius fic. However, I did finally figure out the right style for fanfics and made a very long chapter (compared to the rest) for you with something exciting happening! I can't say when the next update for this will be...but I'm sure it will be before a year has passed.


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